Thursday, January 28, 2010

Today was day one in my Triathlon training. I hope to do the Lake Padden Triathlon in June. I have a bump in the road for my training though. I have been having lower back pain and numbness in my left leg and left foot. I went to my podiatrist a couple weeks ago and he referred me to a neurologist for tests. BTW - going to a neurologist isn't fun at all. The podiatrist neglected telling me that needles and shocking were involved. Oh well...I survived. She called me "Stoic". She said there was significant nerve damage and sent me to get a Cat scan. She called last night with the results. I have a herniated disc and am supposed to stop running and high impact activities. I am now referred to a Spine specialist in hopes of being a good candidate for a steroid shot into the herniated disc area. Worse case senario would be surgery. Bummer, I had already decided my next goal would be a "Sprint" triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 20 mile bike, 5.2 run). Needless to say - her report took the wind out of my sails. Only for a moment though, She went on to say that I could continue with my biking, swimming and walking. So, on to my training. Josh (my son) is going to train me as he has experience in this event. We went for a "practice" test bike ride on the triathlon course today. I did it in 1 hour and 49 minutes. Not too bad for my first time biking at about 85% effort. Some areas are very hilly. So I felt pretty good about it. We then walked (since I'm not running now) once around the lake 2.6 miles (see picture) fairly quickly in about 40 minutes. Hope to go to the pool this weekend and start swimming and deep water running. It was a good long workout. I was pleased with the effort I was able to do for my first tri workout.

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~ I believe that every person born on this earth is a relevant, impactful presence here. When each of us was born we permanently changed history. We are not just a speck that passes unseen. Our very existence leaves a mark whether it be in a person or just as a footprint on the earths' surface. The earth is different because we exist. We are marked in our loved ones and friends souls.

Joseph Epstein once said, "We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents, or the country of birth. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live"